Lloyd Suh's Jesus in India, billed as "a contemporary reimagining of a wild stretch in the lost years of Jesus Christ" in his teen years, gets its world premiere beginning Jan. 25 at Magic Theatre in San Francisco.

New York-based director Daniella Topol (currently helming Off-Broadway's How the World Began for The Women's Project) directs the play by the author of American Hwangap, which Magic premiered. Jesus in India has been developed by Magic in recent years.

Magic describes the new play this way: "Teenaged and wayward, Jesus of Nazareth runs away from home and journeys to the East with his friend, Abigail of Galilee, towards a spiritual haven full of Maharajas, punk rock, and some really good weed."

Performances play to Feb. 19. Opening night is Feb. 1. The cast includes Damon Daunno (Jesus), who appeared in the Broadway production of Kneehigh Theatre's Brief Encounter; Mahira Kakkar (Mahari/Mary), who played Emily Webb in Our Town at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Bobak Bakhtiari (Gopal), who has been seen in Bay Area productions by Word for Word, Golden Thread and Aurora Theatre; Jessica Lynn Carroll (Abigail), who was most recently in Bellwether at Marin Theatre Company; and Jomar Tagatac (Sushil), of The Nature Line at Sleepwalkers Theatre.

In production notes, Suh refers to his latest play as a "rebooting or prequel" to the biblical story. He commented, "This play is for everyone. It's about humanity, coming of age, finding your way. It's the lost chapter, before Jesus became Jesus. You don't have to know the biblical story of Jesus or even be religious to appreciate the play. I think in the end it's about transformation and humanity and nothing is more universal than that."

The production team includes dramaturg Shirley Fishman. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit magictheatre.org.